Ebola outbreak kills leading doctor in Liberia

Associated Press

Published 7:07 pm, Sunday, July 27, 2014

Photo: Associated Press

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Dr. Kent Brantly, shown treating an Ebola patient this year in Monrovia, Liberia, has been infected with the Ebola virus. The American physician is receiving intensive medical treatment and is said to be stable. less

Dr. Kent Brantly, shown treating an Ebola patient this year in Monrovia, Liberia, has been infected with the Ebola virus. The American physician is receiving intensive medical treatment and is said to be ... more

Photo: Associated Press

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A picture taken on July 24, 2014 shows staff of the Christian charity Samaritan's Purse putting on protective gear in the ELWA hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia. An American doctor battling West Africa's Ebola epidemic has himself fallen sick with the disease in Liberia, Samaritan's Purse said on July 27. AFP PHOTO / ZOOM DOSSOZOOM DOSSO/AFP/Getty Images less

A picture taken on July 24, 2014 shows staff of the Christian charity Samaritan's Purse putting on protective gear in the ELWA hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia. An American doctor battling West ... more

Photo: Zoom Dosso, AFP/Getty Images

Ebola outbreak kills leading doctor in Liberia

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Monrovia, Liberia --

One of Liberia's most high-profile doctors has died of Ebola, a government official said Sunday, as an American doctor was treated in the West African country after contracting the disease, highlighting the risks facing health workers trying to combat the spread of the deadly virus.

Dr. Samuel Brisbane is the first Liberian doctor to die in an outbreak the World Health Organization says has killed 129 people in Liberia, and more than 670 in several West African countries. A Ugandan doctor working in the country died earlier this month.

The WHO says the outbreak, the largest ever recorded, has also killed 319 people in Guinea and 224 in Sierra Leone. As of July 23, the total number of cases in the three countries was 1,201, it said.

In Nigeria, authorities announced on Friday that a Liberian official died of Ebola after flying from Monrovia to Lagos. The case underscored the difficulty of preventing Ebola victims from traveling given weak screening systems and the fact that the initial symptoms of the disease - including fever and sore throat - resemble many other illnesses.

An outbreak in Lagos, a megacity where many live in cramped conditions, could be a major public health disaster.

Health workers are at serious risk of contracting the disease, which spreads through contact with bodily fluids.

Dr. Kent Brantly, an American helping respond to the outbreak in Liberia, is receiving intensive medical treatment after he was infected with the virus, a spokeswoman for aid organization Samaritan's Purse said. Brantly was in stable condition, talking with his doctors and working on his computer while receiving care, she said.

Sierra Leone's top Ebola doctor also fell ill with the disease last week, though Chief Medical Officer Dr. Brima Kargbo said Sunday that he was "fairly stable and responding well to treatment."

There is no known cure for Ebola. The West Africa outbreak is believed to have begun as far back as January in southeast Guinea, though the first cases weren't confirmed until March.

Since then, officials have tried to contain the disease by isolating victims and educating populations on how to avoid transmission, though porous borders, satellite outbreaks and widespread distrust of health workers have made the outbreak difficult to bring under control.

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